Super-rare Harry Potter book full of spelling mistakes sells for over £300,000

A rare Harry Potter first edition has sold for a staggering £302,000.

The 'coveted' hardback is one of the 500 sought-after copies printed in the first run which have several typos.

The words 'one wand' are printed twice on a list of items Harry needs for Hogwarts on page 53.

JK Rowling's name appears as 'Joanne Rowling' and the back cover is missing an 'o' in 'Philospher's Stone'.

Of the 500 first edition copies 300 went to schools and libraries and 200 went to friends, reviewers and contacts.

The copy went under the hammer 29 years later at Heritage Auctions, of Dallas, Texas, US.

It was given a pre-sale estimate of £75,000 but fetched four times that amount due to the booming Harry Potter memorabilia market.

A Heritage Auctions spokesperson said: "The hardcover edition remains notably scarcer, as only 500 copies in this binding were produced, chiefly for distribution to public libraries."

Francis Wahlgren, International Director of Rare Books & Manuscripts at Heritage Auctions, said: “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone always has been a popular title among collectors.

"This is a near fine copy of a title that should enjoy a new generation of interested bidders because of the upcoming nine-part TV series."

The world record price paid for a first edition is £356,000, which was achieved in Dallas, US, in December 2021.

Over 120 million copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone have been sold to date.

Meanwhile, JK Rowling will be the focus of a new BBC documentary charting “her rise to fame, cultural influence and contested legacy”.

The two-parter will follow her journey from a struggling single mother in Edinburgh to the creator of the best-selling book series of all time.

The documentary will also use Rowling’s life as a lens “to explore three decades of profound social, political and technological change,” from the success of Harry Potter to being described as “one of Britain’s most polarising public figures”.

The first episode will chart Rowling’s journey from childhood to her unprecedented literary success, with her having had the idea for Harry Potter while on a delayed train to London King’s Cross in 1990.

The magical franchise became a global phenomenon and spawned multiple sequels, as well as a theatre production and a blockbuster film series starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.

The 61-year-old author, whose real name is Joanne Rowling, also wrote Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, which inspired a separate film series, while her original Potter books are being adapted into a new HBO TV show.